Product Description for Honyaki Yanagiba, 270mm (10 2/3 in) with Saya

Maker: Kumagoro (click to see more by this maker)Price: $889.95
Item num: 86793Blade length: 10.63 in.Total length: 17.50 in.Blade width: 1.32 in.Blade thickness: 0.16 in.Item weight: 7.36 oz.Shipment weight: 13.9 oz.Blade: Hand forged honyaki (or "true-forged") shirogrami #3 carbon steel tempered to Hrc 63Bolster: Blonde and brown buffalo horn ferruleHandle: Octagonal macassar ebonySheath: Macassar ebony sayaDescription: Kumagoro's Master Bladesmith hand forges these honyaki ("true forged") hocho. His traditional Japanese knives are highly sought after by professional chefs and show tremendous skill.
The yanagi is a traditional Japanese knife used to cut boneless fish fillets. It is mainly used for a drawing cut. The heel of the knife is placed on the fish and the knife is lightly pressed down, letting the weight of the knife do the work while drawing the blade toward you. Sashimi knives are also excellent for slicing other boneless meats.
This knife is in the honyaki style, meaning it is forged from one piece of carbon steel and differentially hardened. This is accomplished by coating the spine of the knife with clay prior to quenching, causing the spine to cool slower than the blade-edge. The resulting undulating heat treatment line is called a gunome hamon and shows the transition between hard edge-steel and soft spine-steel. This technique takes far more skill to forge and shape than kasumi knives. Of all the Japanese knives, honyaki have the greatest kirenaga (staying sharp the longest) but they are also more fragile than other knives and can chip, crack, or break if used improperly. Kumagoro's master bladesmith began with Yasuki White Paper #3 (shirogami #3). The cutting edge is hardened to Hrc 63, resulting in exceptional edge holding.
The macassar ebony octagonal handle fits comfortably and securely in the hand and is best used by a right-handed user. The buffalo horn ferrule has rare blonde and brown tones. While most traditional handles are formed using black buffalo horn, we have asked Kumagoro's Master Bladesmith to search for these rare, dramatic ferrules.
This knife is accompanied by a macassar ebony saya (blade guard). This protects the knife's edge while in transport and storage.Availability: In stock. Usually ships in 1-2 business days